Environmental Well-Being of the Russian Arctic Regions: Official Data and Population Estimates

The issue of environmental well-being is at the center of current contradictions in development of the Russian Arctic. These contradictions are formed by an exhaustive economic model, successive to the period of industrial development of the Arctic spaces in the 20th century, on the one hand, and the continuing, and in the context of current challenges, increasing role of the macroregion as a resource base for development of the country’s industry, on the other. In this context, anthropogenic impact on natural ecosystems should be considered from two perspectives: objectively occurring environmental pollution as a result of human economic activity and perception of environmental problems by the local population, which is the main consumer of ecosystem services and the medium of human capital, as a key factor in economic development. The aim of the study is to identify key problems and features of the environmental and economic development of the Arctic territories of two Russian regions: Arkhangelsk oblast and the Komi Republic. A specific feature of the research approach is comparison of data from specialized sociological research and official departmental and corporate information on the issues at hand. The study showed that the population’s assessment of the state of individual environmental components largely coincides with official data on water and air pollution. Official data on the condition of forests and parks, noise pollution, and especially cleanliness of the environment (the absence or presence of household waste in territories) were significantly supplemented by assessments on the part of the population. The problem of unauthorized dumps and littering of territories is the most significant and was critically assessed by respondents, but, at the same time, it suffers from an extreme lack of or fragmented statistical information. If other components of the natural environment are characterized by correspondence of critical assessments of respondents and the spatial localization of industrial enterprises and urbanization of territories, then the problem of household waste is more acute for peripheral areas. The study is significant as a basis for further scientific research, including application of the theory of reasoned action and theory of values–beliefs–norms in studying proenvironmental behavior (environmentalism).